High-school Cinderellas scour clothing racks for 'most unique' dress

This undated photo provided by Neev Zaiet shows Zaiet, 16, as she poses outside of her home in Valencia, Calif., in the Betsey Johnson dress she plans on wearing to her prom this Spring 2008.

Neev Zaiet has the dress and shoes ready and the hairstyle picked out. She's had a run-through in the entire ensemble, right down to the makeup, and has posed for a photo shoot with a friend.

There is still the small matter of finding a boy to escort the 16-year-old junior to the Valencia High School prom. But the big night is still two months away.

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In this age of savvy teens, the annual high school dance has taken on an aura of breathless anticipation rivaling a wedding. With attendees, their parents and schools getting involved to plan one night of formality for teens who usually slink to class in jeans and scuffed sneakers, students see the dance as a fashion show to unleash their inner divas.

"You search for months for the perfect dress and spend more time trying to find the perfect accessories," says Dominique Marinello, 15, of Santa Clarita, Calif. "The truth is that no one, your date especially, realizes what it takes to prepare for the big day, but it's great to feel like the most beautiful girl in the room for the night."

And it's no longer as simple as taking a trip to the tried-and-true formal dress departments at their local department stores. Members of Teen Vogue's "It Girls" focus group of fashionable readers say they're just as likely to scour vintage stores or create their own looks.

"They are ready to break the rules," says Gloria Baume, fashion director of Teen Vogue. "They will take only what they like from those stereotypical looks that have dominated the market since the 1950s and reinterpret them in their own magical way."

That approach also helps them avoid showing up as someone else's dress twin. Laura Hammer, a 17-year-old member of the Teen Vogue group, will be wearing a 1960s shift purchased from an online vintage retailer.

"I chose vintage because I had the option of going through the racks at the same stores every teenage girl in my school will be picking through -- you know the usual: Betsey Johnson, Nordstrom, Saks -- and cross my fingers and hope that no one buys the same dress," Laura says. "But by going against the majority and buying vintage, I had the guarantee that I will show up in a one-of-a-kind design."

Breaking with other traditions, such as donning a full-length gown, was also a popular and practical idea. Cristina Ruiz, 18, of Marietta, Ga., recalled her experience at the junior prom in a floor-length dress: "It was impossible to dance in, and I kept tripping all over the place."

Designer Jessica McClintock, whose career started in 1968 by making dresses for San Francisco's hippies, says 80 percent of her prom collection last year were full-length dresses, and she plans to decrease that amount to 70 percent this year.

McClintock, who wore a long white strapless organza dress inspired by Grace Kelly to her own prom in 1950, says she visits four to five high-school dances in her San Francisco neighborhood each year to gauge trends. This year, McClintock says her short dresses will have "a lot of tulle, so girls can wear them with their spike heels, which they love to do."

Neev, the 16-year-old with everything but the prom date, will be channeling the 1980s in a teal blue strapless dress from Betsey Johnson. And to match her pink heels, her lucky man will have to wear a hot pink tie.

"I will find a hot pink tie, no matter what," Zaiet says. "My date will be ecstatic to know that he can stand out at prom and have a hot pink tie and a date in one of the most unique dresses."